There are several $0 Premium Medicare Advantage Plans. There are three or more in every county in Connecticut. (The are no $0 premium Medicare Supplement plans.)

You may be surprised to hear these plans are available to high income earners as well as the rest of us. There are no income questions on the applications.

cost of medicare advantage vs medicare The insurance companies can offer them without a premium because they receive payments from the federal government for each Medicare beneficiary they insure. When you enroll in a Medicare Advantage policy, the responsibility to pay for your medical expenses is borne by the insurer and you instead of the federal government and you.

The federal government pays the insurer for the risk the company takes off their hands.

Although you won’t pay a monthly premium to your insurance carrier, you will have other costs. You will have a monthly premium for Medicare Part B unless the State of Connecticut pays it for you. You will have copays or other cost shares to pay. You may have a premium to pay in subsequent years. You may have late enrollment penalties to pay.

Medicare Part B Premium

Unless you meet the criteria for the Medicare Savings Program, you will pay a monthly premium for Medicare Part B, whether you enroll in a Medicare Advantage program or you enroll a Medicare Supplement plan.

For most new enrollees, the 2017 Part B premium is $134. High income earners may pay more. People who enrolled in previous years may pay less.

Medicare Part C – Cost Shares for CT Medicare Advantage Plans

All Medicare Advantage plans (also known as Part C Plans) have cost shares. These can include deductibles and coinsurance.

Your plan may have copays you pay each time you visit a doctor or refill a prescription. Copays are paid every time you have certain medical expenses. They are usually small amounts, but not always. Some copays are hundreds of dollars. These higher copays are typically incurred for hospital stays, surgeries and other major expenses.

You may have an annual deductible that you pay before certain services are covered. Deductibles are almost only payable once during a calendar year with not only Medicare insurance plans, but also other health insurance policies.

When you pay coinsurance, you pay a percentage of the cost of a treatment.

Premium Increases

A plan with a $0 premium this year may have a premium next year. Your premium will not change in the middle of the year, but you may owe a monthly premium starting next January. Next year’s premium will be outlined in the Annual Notice of Change document. These documents are mailed to policyholders each October.

Late Enrollment Penalties

Failure to enroll in Medicare Part A, Part B, or Part D on time can mean that you incur penalties. If you missed the Part A or Part B penalty, you may pay a monthly penalty to the federal government.

If you missed the Part D deadline, you will pay a monthly premium even for an otherwise $0 premium plan.

There are Medicare Part D penalty exceptions. If you missed your deadline because you received drug coverage at work, you will not have to pay the penalty. If you qualify for “Extra Help” or the Medicare Savings Program, your penalty will be waived. (To qualify for either of these programs, your income must be within the guidelines.)

For more information: request CT Medicare Advantage Plans recommendations from me. You will get prices and benefit information via email for the plan my experience says will serve you best.

We Pre-Pay for Our $0 Premium Medicare Advantage Plans

These plans are partially paid for by the payroll taxes that were or are deducted for your paychecks. This is true for both Original Medicare as well.

Original Medicare is Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. The amount you pay in premiums for these programs may be 20% or so of the actual value of the benefits you receive. Fortunately, you probably pre-paid for most of the cost of Medicare, including your zero premium health insurance plan by having small sums deducted from your pay check every week for decades.

You want find the best Medicare insurance plans for your needs and I’d like to help. I can deliver to you the information you need to decide if you want one of the Medicare C plans or a Medigap and a drug plan. Once you have decided which direction you want to go in, I can help you find the right plan for you. And I can help you each year so you always have the right coverage.